nuttystorytimefandomcom-20200213-history
Hollow
'"Hollow" '''is the first Special of the 2016 Specials and the 181st episode overall. It is a standalone episode. It was narrated by Mets the Mailman, airing on January 4, 2016. It was Mets's first narration since "We Didn't Start the Fire." In the episode, Mets the Mailman and Ethan, now in his old age, crash the stricken TARDIS in a quaint, winter village where Ethan faces an unexpected enemy and the Mailman faces his worst nightmare. The Episode TARDIS 64 YEARS AFTER SEASON 7 (BATTLEFIELD) Mets the Mailman set the tray of food in front of his husband, Ethan. The drink had his aging powder in it. It allowed Ethan to maintain a youthful appearance to match Mets', despite being 88 years old. Mets, however, was 518 years old and didn't look a day over 27. "Looks good," Ethan said, drinking the juice and powder, "Is this steak?" "I don't know," Mets said, "I can never tell with Silurian cuisine." "You should probably give the console a check," Ethan said between bites, "You remember what happened last time?" Mets nodded gravely. "Parallel universe," he said and sauntered over to the TARDIS console. Everything seemed to be in order...dials moving smoothly, mustard levels high, parking brake off... Mets took a sip from his own drink and squinted at the map. He still couldn't decide if Ethan would enjoy the settlement of Uranus or the Orient Express more... "Mets..." Ethan said from behind the console, "I think you...mixed up the powders...again..." "What?" Mets said, moving around the TARDIS controls, "What did I mix up?" Ethan slid out of his chair. "Sleeping powder..." he muttered as he closed his eyes. Mets stared at his own drink. "Oh no..." He collapsed into a deep sleep. ONE HOUR LATER Mets awoke on the TARDIS ceiling. It was upside down. The cloister bell rung continuously. "Oh good!" Ethan cried, "You're awake!" Ethan was attempting to reach the controls with a broomstick. "Hold on!" Mets shouted and snapped his fingers. The TARDIS flipped over. Mets and Ethan came crashing down. "Ow," Ethan mumbled, his face pushed against the metal floor. Mets scurried to the controls, which were emitting steam. The TARDIS banked sharply to the left. The monitor cracked. The parking brake slipped on, making a noise that sounded like a key scraping against piano wire. "THAT'S IT!" Mets cried, "WE'RE CRASHING!" "Fantastic," Ethan groaned, gripping the console for dear life. The TARDIS inverted a few more times before coming to a complete and abrupt halt. VILLAGE Mets opened the door and stepped out. "Oh," he said, "This is quaint." A small, snowy village lay before them. It was night; the stars were shining next to the radiant moon. And they were stars Mets recognized. "Earth!" he exclaimed, "Well look at that! Not too far at all!" "Huh," Ethan said, shrugging, "We lucked out." "I wonder where we are," Mets said, "And when. Give me a second." Mets went back into the TARDIS, leaving Ethan alone outside. Ethan was eager to explore this village. It looked like it was during World War II. In fact, now that he looked closer, it definitely was. Army vehicles were parked along the street. And everywhere seemed empty, the husband and fathers and brothers and sons off to fight the War. The Tudor styled homes and thatched roofs clearly indicated England or Scotland. Or Ireland. Or Wales. Great Britain was a safe bet. Ethan paused for a moment to look up at the sky for planes. Leave it to the TARDIS to drop them in a war zone on the eve of battle. But then again, they crashed. And when the TARDIS crashes, it never goes anywhere good. But this place was...serene. Ethan knelt in front of the town sign, but ice blocked the letters. He wiped snow away from the population number: 3,400. Not too big. Not too small. The door to the Church opened and several people came out, adorned in winter cloaks. They walked in the opposite direction of Ethan and the TARDIS and vanished in the snowy fog. Someone else then emerged from the Church and glanced quickly at the graveyard behind the building. He swirled his cloak and set off for the cemetery. Ethan frowned and followed him. "Be right back!" he called into the TARDIS. "Okay..." Mets muttered from within. Ethan moved into the fog. Each step revealed more and more of the sunken graveyard. Many of the tombstones were in terrible condition. Others were a bit more pristine. Ethan stopped moving when he heard voices. "You came," a deep, dark drawl said. "I had no choice," a woman squeaked. Ethan felt an icy chill down his back. He really shouldn't be here. This was a private conversation. He turned to go. "AH!" the woman cried. Ethan whipped his head around in time for the flash. TARDIS Mets opened the compartment underneath the console and removed several books. "''Gravity for Dummies," he read, tossing title after title over his shoulder, "Murder on the Orient Express, Catching Fire, The Emperor Dalek's New Groove..." An extremely dusty, old, blue book was at the bottom of the compartment. The TARDIS manual. Mets stood and blew the dust off the cover. He glanced curiously at the TARDIS monitor. They were in England. At least that much was apparent. But the year was different. Usually the monitor indicated the date simply with the digits of the year. For example, it might say 2015 or 1739 or 3 or 930213580009. Now, the monitor read "1944F." F, Mets thought to himself, What the F is the F for? "Be right back!" Ethan called into the TARDIS. "Okay..." Mets said quietly. He skimmed the manual's table of contents. "Date Dial," Mets said triumphantly and flipped to the corresponding page. He read through the circular Gallifreyan. "Oh," he said, "F means...fictional." Fictional. A fictional world? Or a fictional alternate reality? But which one? They could be in Jane Austen's memoirs for all they knew. Or a murder novella. "Ethan!" Mets called, "Ethan, we should go!" Mets ran outside. Ethan was walking toward the graveyard. GRAVEYARD Ethan stumbled backward as the woman fell dead. But...what...how... The man suddenly stepped out of the fog. He had a crooked nose and a sinister smile. Long, greasy hair fell to his shoulders. "Snooping, are we?" he asked, smile widening. "I..." Ethan said, "Who..." "Enough questions," the man sneered, "You've spied on the wrong Dark Wizard." He drew a stick from the inside of his robes. With horrifying satisfaction, he pointed it at Ethan. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Mets skidded to a halt. He felt his two hearts snap. Ethan Morgan fell dead at the hand of Gellert Grindelwald, the Darkest Wizard in the fictional Harry Potter universe until the rise of Lord Voldemort. As Mets approached Ethan's body, Grindelwald disapparated. "ETHAN!" Mets cried, collapsing at his side. He grasped his hands and attempted CPR. But it was no use. Mets lugged Ethan's body back to the TARDIS, hoping that once it left fictional reality, his life would be restored. With Ethan resting lifelessly against the TARDIS door, Mets operated the console. The TARDIS disappeared. SIMON AND DEEBA'S HOUSE Simon Morgan slid an elderly Deeba her stack of mail. "Something from the Cult in there," he said, "They might need you again." "But I'm retired," Deeba said irritably, "Don't they like their new recruits?" She sighed. "Any word from Ethan?" she asked. "No," Simon said with a frown. It had been a few months since they last heard from his brother. Mets and Ethan were in the habit of sending letters everyday. They usually arrived sparsely throughout the year so it felt like they were in ordinary correspondence. "I'll call the TARDIS," Simon said. He picked up the phone as the doorbell rang. Deeba patted her grey hair and went to answer the door. "Simon," Deeba said from the hall, "It's Mets." Simon set down the phone and turned to greet Mets. But Mets wasn't smiling. He looked distraught. And he was alone, adorned in black. He had bags under his eyes. "Mets," Deeba said, "What is it?" The Mailman stuck his gloved hands in his pockets. "I'm..." he mumbled, "I'm...so sorry to tell you...that Ethan died three days ago..." The room was silent. Simon collapsed in a chair. Deeba grabbed the table to steady herself. "How...?" Deeba asked. Mets swallowed hard. "We...crashed...the TARDIS...in a fictional reality. The um....the Harry Potter universe." Deeba's eyes widened. "I didn't know that was possible!" she said. "I didn't either," Mets said, "It was an accident." "What happened?" Simon croaked. He cried freely. "He was killed by the Killing Curse," Mets said in a voice that suggested he still did not believe it, "by Gellert Grindelwald." "My brother," Simon spat, "was killed by a fictional character?!" Mets whimpered. "I did everything I could to restore him...I went to every medicinal planet in the Universe! I went to Gallifrey! Science has no cure for magic." "Like the Necromancer's zombies," Deeba said quietly, "We couldn't do anything to stop them because they were created by magic from the Enchanted Forest." Deeba stopped when she too could not believe what she was saying. "Simon," Mets said, "I am so sorry." Simon hurried across the room and embraced the Mailman. "You gave him the best life he could have had," Simon said quietly but with conviction, "He was happy." "How old was she?" Deeba asked. "88," Mets said. "I always thought I would die first," Simon said with a pathetic laugh, "How foolish we are to challenge fate." "I'll call for a funeral," Deeba said, "Don't you two worry about a thing. I'll plan everything." "Tomorrow," Mets said, "It must be tomorrow." Deeba nodded. ONE DAY LATER Mets the Mailman sat with Deeba and Simon outside the TARDIS after the funeral ended. In his hands, he held the urn with half of Ethan's ashes. "Where will you go?" Deeba asked. "Gallifrey probably," Mets said, "I've been traveling for too long. I just want to mourn for a while." "Don't mourn for too long," Simon said, "Ethan wanted everyone to find happiness." Mets tightened his knuckles. "I'll miss you both," he said. "We'll call you," Simon said, "As we've always done." Mets smiled. He stood and gave them both hugs. "Give the kids and grandkids hugs from me," Mets said. He then quickly entered his TARDIS without looking back. TARDIS Mets ripped the gloves off. The yellow regenerating energy exploded out of them. He clutched his broken hearts, torn by the loss of love. Holding off regeneration was catastrophic, he knew, but it had only been three days... Three days since Ethan Morgan was killed. Since the ache in his chest began. Now so painful he couldn't breathe. Mets moved toward the console and set it in motion, planning a course for Gallifrey. He removed his jacket and hat. He ran a hand through his red hair. The familiar hair. The hair that not Spencer Tate, but Ethan Morgan fell in love with. The face that arrived when Mets sacrificed himself in the Necromancer's Game to save Ethan. To save SPECKLE. To save VMK. He looked into the mirror. The yellow aura was surrounding him now. Trust. Accept. Thank. Excel. The four virtues about change a young Ethan Morgan told Mets to embrace when he first met him. The four virtues that formed the acronym of his fake surname, Tate. Mets gazed into his own yellowing eyes. He relaxed. "There is no remedy for a broken heart," Mets said to his reflection, "Except acceptance of change." He outstretched his arms and led the regeneration take ahold of him. He kept his eyes up at the wall, where a portrait of Ethan and Mets was hung. He didn't look away until his new fourth incarnation took his place. GALLIFREY ONE YEAR LATER Mets IV twirled his cane in his hand as he walked back to his TARDIS, unused since his arrival at Gallifrey. He had spent the last year catching up with his family and friends. Many of them had not regenerated since Mets had seen them. He, however, had regenerated several times over. "A new cycle?!" his mother had exclaimed, "Goodness, Mets, what did you get yourself into?" "Xerxes," was his response. Mets moved his hands over the TARDIS exterior, in its standard Gallifreyan grey capsule form. Smiling, he opened the door and stepped inside. TARDIS Mets unhooked the portrait of Ethan from the wall and put it with the other companion paintings in his gallery. He placed his hand cautiously over his chest and felt the proper beat of two whole hearts. He stood back to look at the gallery, only four pictures hung. Only four companions. He didn't figure that was too bad of a number. Most Time Lords had very few companions. Even fewer alien companions. The TARDIS rocked. Mets jammed his cane on the ground to steady himself. Above him, the console room door opened and someone ran in. Mets quickly searched his pocket. The key was still there...then how...? Mets reached the console room just as the TARDIS was vanishing. A woman was standing at his controls, moving hurriedly around the machine, attempting to pilot it by herself. "Need a hand?" Mets asked with a smile, leaning on his cane. The woman jumped. "Who are you?" she gasped, "Why did you sneak aboard?" "Oh," Mets said, "I was going to ask you that exact question. Let me rephrase it. What are you doing on MY TARDIS?" The woman bit her lip. "I didn't know this was an occupied TARDIS." "Sorry," Mets said, "I took down my decorations." The Time Lady gazed at the bare walls. "I can see that," she said. She locked with Mets's gaze. She stuck out her hand. "Guinevere," she said, "My name is Guinevere." "Long name," Mets said, shaking her hand. "It's short for Guineverennaromanalla," she said curtly. Mets paused. "Oh. Okay. Well, I'm Mets the Mailman. Nice to meet you. Why are you in my TARDIS?" "I'm running," Guinevere said, "I'm a Citadelian. I can't leave until I've regenerated once. But I don't want to regenerate." She puffed out her chest. "Look at me, why would I?" "You're running," Mets said with a smile, "Isn't that why we all leave eventually?" "I saw the Doctor could do it," Guinevere said, "So why shouldn't I?" Mets broke into a wider smile. "You're in luck, Guinevere!" Mets said, "I was just leaving anyway. You picked the right TARDIS to sneak into after all!" Guinevere sighed in relief and smiled. "You'll take me then?" "Of course," Mets said, giving Guinevere a peck on the cheek, "I'm in the need for a new companion, anyway." Production Promotion On January 1, 2016, to celebrate the New Year and the approaching Specials debut, producers released the trailer to the right for the first episode of the Specials. The trailer summarizes that Mets the Mailman and Ethan will encounter terrible danger in a strange place. The music used is "Voldemort's End" from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." ''The font used is also associated with ''Harry Potter. Both are used in foreshadowing the events of the episode. Continuity and Story Arcs The episode is set 64 years after the events of "Deception" and Battlefield as a whole. The episode focuses primarily on the deaths of Ethan Morgan and Mets III. Mets regenerated into his fourth incarnation. During his period of mourning, he picked up a new companion in his TARDIS named Guinevere. During Mets's regeneration, he reminisces on his first and last moments in his third incarnation, harking back to "The Return of the Cult of Gallifrey." He also thinks about the events depicted in "A Game of Thrones (Part 1)" and "A Game of Thrones (Part 2)." References The sound of the parking brake being similar to a key scraping against piano wire is a reference to the TARDIS's noise being exactly that: a key scraping against piano wire. Mets has several books in his TARDIS such as Catching Fire. One of them, The Emperor Dalek's New Groove is used in Doctor Who, series 6 ("Night Terrors"). Gellert Grindelwald makes a prominent appearance in the episode as the man who killed Ethan Morgan. Trivia *The episode title is derived from the location of the episode; Godric's Hollow. *During airing, the audience thought the Dark Wizard in the Hollow was Severus Snape. *Guinevere's name being a shortened version of an even longer, more complicated name, is a parallel of famous Classic Doctor Who companion Romana, the only Time Lady to ever be the Doctor's companion. Category:Episodes Category:Specials Category:2016 Specials